Wayne, NJ – Behind five in double-figures, the Montclair State University men's basketball team surged past William Paterson, 97-81, on Wednesday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (4-2, 1-1 NJAC) struck for the night's first two buckets, as AHMAD ROBERTSON knocked down a three off a feed from CHRISTIAN CEVIS, and KIERAN FLANAGAN converted a layup off a steal from MIKE JACKSON. The home side responded with the next 10 points and would lead 12-7 five minutes in. Montclair answered with a run of their own, rattling off 13 consecutive points, a run capped off by a three from Jackson off another find from Cevis. 
• The visitors would later push the lead into double-digits, as SAMAR ABDULLAH hit a three at the midway point of the first half. After William Paterson cut the deficit to five, JACOB MORALES knocked down back-to-back threes along with two free throws to balloon the lead to 13 with under four on the clock. Montclair would maintain the double-digit lead the remainder of the half, reaching as high as 22 to go into the break up 51-29. 
• Robertson completed an and-one opportunity and later hit a jumper the next minute to increase the margin for the visitors to 27 with 14:34 left. William Paterson answered with nine-straight to come within 16 at the halfway point of the second, but the Red Hawks later pushed the advantage back to 24, highlighted by another three from Abdullah and a layup from KUNGA TSERING.
• The Pioneers began to dip into the deficit and eventually chipped it down to 12 with just under four minutes left. After a layup from Jackson, William Paterson would trim the lead to single-digits, getting within nine with 1:45 on the clock. Montclair would tighten up defensively, holding the home side without a point the rest of the way to seal the victory.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Robertson led the way for Montclair with a game-high 22 points, which set a new career-best for the sophomore. He has notched back-to-back 20-point efforts and has three on the campaign.
• Jackson finished with 15 points on the night to continue his streak of double-digit point efforts, increasing the mark to 14 dating back to January 27, 2024.
• The senior surpassed Greg Fowler for seventh in program history in points with 1,325. He is 55 away from Connie Perry, who amassed 1,380 points during his collegiate career.
• Morales and Tsering tallied 13 points each, with KIERAN FLANAGAN notching 11 to round out the group in double-figures. 
• TYSON ALLEN made his season debut in the contest, appearing in his first game since December 10, 2022. He recorded three points in seven minutes of play.
• Montclair has won seven consecutive games against William Paterson dating back to the 2021-22 season. They have eclipsed 90 points in each of their last four meetings.
• The Red Hawks have won their last seven games played at William Paterson and have not dropped a contest there since 2017.

FROM THE COURT

"Great team effort. I thought our guys competed and played with a relentless effort for the majority of the game. We got several great contributions tonight. We need to just keep working and building the right habits." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will return home to face Rutgers-Newark on Saturday, December 7. Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 1:00 PM.